Maori culture and the settlement of Aotearoaby manmeet kaur.p

- why is the haka preformed ?

Originally the haka was designed to scare of the invaders of the lands but now is used for many reasons. Today it is used for traditional Māori celebrations to honour special guests, to celebrate family events like birthdays and weddings. It is also preformed to challenge opponents on the sporting fields. It also resembles ancestry events and tribe history

-when did the Polynesians discover Aotearoa?

The date is not yet confirmed yet scientists believe that in sometime between 13th century , Aotearoa was discovered by the Polynesian settlers.

-how did the Polynesians discover Aotearoa?

Māori people believe that Kupe was the first person who discovered Aotearoa using the stars and the ocean to navigate his way on his waka hourua ( voyaging canoe ) from his home land of Hawaiki.

- what was their daily source of food?

Daily source of food for the Māori people was bird and fish with wild herbs and roots. Māori people grew root and crops including potato and kumara ( sweet potato). They used to cook under the ground I ovens called Hangi.

-how did they communicate?

The Māori people used to communicate using the Māori language but this is slowly starting to fade as English is talking over.

- how did they decide marriages?

Maori marriage was decided traditionally with the parents deciding who was the right rank to get their child married to. This would also be based on both personal attraction and whānau negotiations.